I came to Berlin to try to see what I could of the Cold War and the Soviet influence in Berlin but I was a little disappointed initially as I found what remained of the Berlin Wall disrupted.. chipped away and graffiti on the eastern side where there should have been none. I guess Germany is more eager to forget about this past than I am eager to learn about it. What I learned though was the wall still exists within the mentality of Berliners so in that way it was actually very interesting and I learned more than I would have staring at a gray wall. People who had grown up in a communist society had trouble adjusting to the coldness of capitalism and this was a great learning experience.

I love Berlin. It's a great city. Very young culture surrounded by tons of history. I highly recommend you stay at the Baxpax Downtown Hostel/ - lots of fun, perfect location. Great young crowd. The bigger the room you stay in the better - you'll meet more people that way.